Great networkers build their networks every day, while keeping in touch with those they have already met.
Networking is work, but the rewards far outweigh the effort you will expend.
The most effective way to build a network is to have a genuine interest in every person you meet. Most individuals know when someone wants to know them for what they offer versus wanting to know them for what they can gain from the relationship. Don’t fall into that self-serving trap. Genuine interest in others is the impetus for building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships of give and take, with the emphasis on the give.
If you are just beginning to build your network, or if you want to expand the network you already have, consider the following exercise:
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Quadrant I High Willingness to Help Low Relevance to Job Search |
Quadrant II High Willingness to Help High Relevance to Job Search |
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Quadrant III Low Willingness to Help Low Relevance to Job Search |
Quadrant IV Low Willingness to Help High Relevance to Job Search |
Notice that the horizontal axis is relevance to job search. As you go from left to right, the relevance to your job search becomes stronger. Willingness to help is on the vertical axis; as you go higher, the willingness to help is greater.
Logically, you will want to expand your network with the people who represent the characteristics in quadrant II: high willingness to help and high relevance to your job search. These individuals include the following:
- Career services directors, career counselors, administrators
- Peers with whom you have good relationships and who could perhaps share information about their prior internships
- Professors who are impressed with your abilities and performance and who have ties to corporations of interest to you
- Alumni who want an increasing number of qualified candidates from their school to enter their company or industry
- Past employers who were very satisfied with your level of work, who have contacts at firms in which you are interested in, and so forth
- Your relative who works in a corporation, but not in your industry, who may be friends with those who do work in your industry
Logically, you will want to spend the least amount of time with people in quadrant III because they have no relevance to your job search and are not willing to help.
Quadrants I and IV remain, and very helpful networking contacts could be lurking in both of these populations.
Quadrant I: This is an excellent resource for networking contacts because these individuals are very willing to help, but perhaps their relevance to your job search isn’t obvious or apparent. You never know who people know, so it’s very much worth your while to get to know as many people as you can, no matter what the venue.
People in quadrant I include the following:
- A neighbor might be best friends with an administrative assistant at the company in which you are interested and that assistant could easily share your résumé with hiring managers.
- Someone with whom you are affiliated by attending a church, synagogue, or any other place of worship may have contacts in the industry in which you are interested, and can arrange for an informational interview.
- Your landscaper might have a brother who is a senior or top-level executive at the exact company in which you are interested.
- A diner owner could have a close friend who is a hospital administrator and can arrange an introduction into the health-care field.
- A teacher’s husband might be a vendor to the company in which you are interested.
- Your dog groomer might have a neighbor who is a junior-level manager at a firm of interest.
The endless possibilities in this quadrant shouldn’t be overlooked!
Quadrant IV’s population could also represent fruitful opportunities, but you will need to ask yourself, “at what cost?” If someone highly relevant to your job search has a low willingness to help, could you turn that person around? What would it take? Often, it’s best to funnel your energy and effort into the quadrants that will yield the best results: quadrants I and II.
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